By Gerald Green – On a Thursday in August, I heard English and Spanish as I watched African- American and Latino families share a pot-luck dinner in honor of mothers graduating from the Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network’s (PLAN) intensive five-week summer leadership program.

By Erick Chavarría – The path of the march was to go to the Oakland police station but we went much farther. I arrived to see around 100 people gathered around the corner of 14th & Broadway in the Frank Ogawa Plaza. Most of the people were wearing black. I had just finished work, so I was still in my slacks and shirt. I walked around and saw medical tents, a strong police presence and two helicopters over head. Some medical tents lined the perimeter. These people were prepared for something big.

By Gerald Green – Ferguson’s policing paradigm percolates in too many American cities with aggressive use of deadly force: A force similar to cancerous tumors before they metastasize and kill the body. Unfortunately watchdog agencies? immune system?in those cities have been compromised by latent racism. Oncologists study tumors’ size, location, type, and stage of growth, before exercising options, like lawmakers should collect and review data before writing laws.

By Sara Rowley – When the verdict for the officer guilty of the shooting of Oscar Grant was issued, you could sense the tension in the air. None of the looting or rioting had occurred yet, though those are the only images that come to mind today. In fact, what I saw was a couple of miles away from the chaos of downtown Oakland, a few blocks over the hill from where I live.

By Sergio Martinez – I have been reflecting on the situation in Ferguson, Missouri regarding the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager. It is difficult not to. I see it in the morning and evening news, hear people talking about it in public and it is all over my social media sites. The social unrest in response to the shooting has many social activists on social media calling the situation as a “revolution” or a “rebellion”. I set out to talk to neighbors of my Fruitvale community to hear their perspective.

By Tiffany Lacsado – I am deeply saddened by this happening in this country but it doesn’t surprise me. I’ve lived long enough to know that these injustices occur even in this country and I’m still young enough to not lose hope that maybe this time our country, our people, the American people will learn a lesson that will propel us forward.

By Tom Webb – Could East Oakland be the site of the “next” Ferguson, MO? This question was on the minds of many East Oaklanders as the tragic events leading to the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a city police officer in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th continued to create heated controversy in that town and across the country. Brown, an 18 year-old African-American youth, was shot six times, according to a coroner’s report, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer who had summoned Brown and a friend with whom we was walking in the middle of the street.

By Le’Ana Powell – Stop the Violence is the message at two local parks in East Oakland. Community Engagement Coordinator Jennifer Argueta is the Director of Messengers 4 Change (a project of Oakland Unite), and manages these Friday night family events at Willie Wilkins Park located 1100 98th Avenue and Carter Gilmore Park located on 1390 66th Avenue.

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